Her Unforgotten First Love

Chapter 18 In Big Trouble

Ethan's POV

I was turning on my bed since sleeping has become hard for me since I arrived on the farm. My room was smaller than I used to, and I was not comfortable sharing a room with someone. I feel glad Jonathan is a good guy. He didn't ask questions, and I like him for respecting my privacy.

The only thing that bothers me is that he likes Meliza, too, and I don't understand why I feel bothered about it; I should not give a damn, but ever since I met that girl, I couldn't take her off of my damn mind, even if there were a lot of things that occupied my head.

I couldn't stop thinking about Iza, and what the girls had said about her heightened my curiosity. As I evaluated my feelings, I suddenly felt alarmed and swore never to go down that road. I hated her before I even met her, but her angelic face and piercing eyes haunted me.

After I met her, I couldn't accept that she was that beautiful. Where was she hiding all this time? I didn't want the girls to win; they bet that I would fall into Meliza's trap, too, and I told them there was no need to bet since I would never like her.

I woke up the following morning before my alarm clock could buzz and quickly bathed. I don't want to give Meliza the satisfaction of reprimanding me. I am not an early riser since, for the past months, I have been partying every night, coming home past midnight, and waking up late the following day. That was my routine since after I graduated college to piss my father off.

Meliza checked my work, but she didn't say anything to me. She only looked at the stable, walked out as fast as possible, and rode Vince's pick-up towards the plantation. During lunch, she sat at the farthest side of the dining hall with her friend, Ruby.

She kept her head down while Nicole and her friends continued talking about her without caring if Iza heard them.

"What made you think Meliza is a social climber, Nicole?" I asked her during a coffee break one afternoon. She and her friends kept tailing me wherever I went, and all of them were trying to get my attention by serving me my coffee and handing me my cookies.

I didn't complain since I was used to having maids growing up in my parent's house and even in my own place. I loved the attention they gave me, and I didn't like the idea that Meliza didn't even look at me during break time as if I didn't exist while the girls were doing their best to have my slightest attention.

It dawned on me that Meliza didn't like me because she thought I was penniless and not the son of the farm's owner. It made me angry that I wanted her to know I was the only son of Isagani Almendraz.

"Don't tell me you are one of them, Ethan," Crystal said when she caught me staring at Meliza sitting at the side of the swimming pool alone during our barbecue party.

"What do you mean?" I asked as I turned my attention to her.

"You like her too. I had been watching you," she replied, and I laughed.

"That is crazy. I was staring at Meliza since I wondered what they saw in her," I said, averting her gaze.

"We shared the same thought; Iza tried to distance herself from everyone, but mind you, that is her strategy. She wanted to look mysterious to have everyone's attention, especially the boys. She lured boys by acting like a fragile girl." Crystal replied as my cold gaze returned to Meliza.

I hated what happened in my life, and I still needed to figure out how to leave this place and gain my father's trust again, but I swore never to ask for help from him, no matter what happened.

But my earnings on the farm would never be enough. Lately, having Iza in my thoughts is an additional burden, and I have to get her out of my system. And the only thing I can do is stay as far away from her as possible.